Rain
by scarce raindrops
Summary: If either of them could reverse time, they would go back to the day of the rain storm — where he first met her and when none of this mattered. Innocence needs to be shed for a child to become an adult, just like how caterpillars must shed their cocoons to become a butterfly. The happy days left way too quickly. (A rewritten version of Ragtag Bunch of Misfits)


A/N: Decided to rewrite this story one chapter at a time. Just figured that the characterizations of the characters could have been handled better and that some things could be less rushed. Besides, I feel like the first chapter of the original story was a bit too comical, so was the second one. However, even though I am currently under the delusion that I did pretty well in this rewrite, this chapter probably still sucks to other people. But whatever.

On an unrelated note, if anyone is interested in participating in an One Piece RP, visit my profile page.

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><p>He never understood where his fond appreciation of rain came from. It's as if someone had whisked him away from his parents' care when he was still a teeny tiny toddler and placed him in some sort of fancy contraption to program the appreciation of rain into him.<p>

He had always liked to dance in the rain. Dancing in the rain was something he did quite often when he was a little kid; with him often doing it even against his mother's warnings. Which was strange at the time because he was still in the "I want to be Mama's good boy" stage and would frequently compete with his younger sibling, Himawari, in who could be more obedient or more docile. Eventually though, he gave up after he came to terms with the realization that the very essence of being a boy is to cause mischief and there was just no way he could ever beat little "Miss Perfect".

There was always something about the coldness of the winds and the tender touches of the raindrops that rejuvenated him and filled him with energy. It's like taking a relaxing cold shower, something that he quite enjoys but his mother frequently disapproves, while enjoying the added perk of being able to have fun. To summarize, he likes to go outside and get wet. The pleasant fragrance of the fresh earth and the sight of the seven-colored arch bridge after the storm was also something that he welcomed. Though he has to admit that he always hated the several days that he had to spend in bed, taking medicines that induces drowsiness, just to overcome his cold. So perhaps that's where his fondness towards the rain came from?

Or perhaps he appreciates the rain simply because if it weren't for the rain, he would have never witnessed the spectacle was even more memorable than the first time that he spotted the seven-colored arch bridge that stretched across the equatorial sky. It's because of the rain that he was able to meet her— the girl of apparent melancholy that stood by the river.

The girl's hair, weighed down by the rainwater that had soaked her, parted in front of her face like a black curtain, covering her face from the gazes of his blue irises. The figure of melancholy didn't look at anyone in particular, the sight of the rippling watercourse in front of her had seemingly held her attention in inescapable captivity. Numerous trails of liquid stole down her face, to the point that he wasn't able to tell where they were coming from; he remembered thinking that the girl was crying. Perhaps she was, but there is no way he can confirm his suspicions now, for that was the only time that he ever saw her.

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><p>Uzumaki Bolt sat on the plastic chairs in the academic classroom, his feet held up by the long wooden desk positioned in front of him, as he nonchalantly dug his finger through his nostril to excavate the boogers that he will eventually consume; all the while ignoring the shrieking of the disgusted girl sitting next to him. Passing the exam required to become a certified genin was a piece of cake, though sitting in class and waiting to find out your team placement with breathless anticipation proved to be a higher challenge.<p>

The blonde doesn't know who he wants to be placed with, but he does know who he doesn't want to be placed with. The criterion is quite simple to understand: If the person is a douchebag, he doesn't want to be placed on the same team as them. It is not hard to spot which one is the douchebag either—just find a kid that sits by himself/herself all the time, all the while wearing an angry scowl on her face. It is really as simple as it sounds. In fact, due to his constant application of this nifty, self-taught trick, Bolt was able to, in his opinion, steer clear of people who he suspects of being jackasses, namely Uchiha Sarada— an achievement that he has always been quite proud of.

Uchiha Sarada wasn't a hard douchebag to find; she literally fits the douchebag profile that he assembled to the "tee." A perpetual angry expression on her, constantly sits by herself as if she is allergic to other humans, the whole nine. An air of suffocating uneasiness always seemed to surface whenever the Uchiha participates in inter-human interaction. Certainly someone that makes even the Jonin ninjas of the Leaf Village uneasy must be some sort of uber-douchebag. Though he supposes the tension and caution that surfaces whenever the bespectacled Uchiha was around were only reasonable; her dad, Uchiha Sasuke, was quite the notorious criminal back in his father's teenage years. Though others might have forgiven the male Uchiha due to his contributions in the Fourth Shinobi Great War, and his heroic act of destroying a meteor that was about to hit Konohagakure, Bolt knows that he won't ever be as forgiving as most of the other villagers. Although his dad's childhood rival have never wronged him directly, anyone that threatened the well-being of his precious village will continue to be a threat in need of immediate removal regardless of whatever "acts of redemption" that they accomplished, and if he were to do a risk assessment, Uchiha Sasuke would be a major risk in his book. For all Bolt knows, Uchiha Sasuke's "redeeming acts" were all a show that he put up to gain the villager's trusts, only to turn on them again when an opportune moment arises. After all, the male Uchiha had turned on the village once, what's stopping him from doing it again?

According to his mother, the male Uchiha wields two extremely powerful doujutsu that dwarfs his mother's clan's prized possession, the Byakugan, in both power and usefulness. If any human were to wield such unimaginable powers, they would probably get so drunk with power and delude themselves into a sense of godhood. So what's stopping Sasuke from letting such power get to him? As far as the blonde is concerned, Uchiha Sasuke is just a mortal man just like any other, that by luck, was blessed with a pair of amazing eyes.

Only when the vizor wearing academy instructor, make his way to the front of the class, did Bolt manage to drag himself out of his sea of complex thoughts and analysis. Silence and discipline soon spread across the room like an infectious disease, gone were the incessant chatterings, corrected were the improper postures, and soon, everyone's eyes became fixated on the lone academy instructor standing in front of the class. Bolt, however, still had his feet up on his table; he could care less about what the insect user thinks of him. He is no fawning parasites unlike the rest of his classmates, but he, however, is the son of the strongest man alive at the moment. If anything, everyone else should be sycophantic towards him. Surely they wouldn't want to incur the wrath of his father shall they upset him.

Pulling up the word document attached to the electronic mail that the Hokage had sent him, Shino perused the contents carefully, and with a clearance of his throat, he spoke, almost too monotonous."I'm here to inform you of your team placements…"

The classroom was silent for a while, with the class waiting for the visor-wearing man to continue, while the said man seemed to be expecting some sort of reaction, a standing ovation probably. Eventually, the class caved in, and erupted in cheers just like how Shino had wanted, albeit they sounded forced and reeked of fake enthusiasm, Shino was nonetheless pleased. Taking another look of his screen, he continued.

"...Even though you might not like your teammates, I would like you guys to try to get along with each other. You know why? Because someone's feelings could be seriously hurt if he or she feels unwanted."

Bolt doesn't remember much of what happened after that. Probably because he fell asleep. Though shortly after consciousness reunited with him once again, he was bestowed with the horrible knowledge of who had been placed on the same team as him— the douchebag that he had so desperately tried to avoid, Uchiha Sarada. Stretching out his limbs to alleviate the lingering lethargy, Bolt pulled himself off the plastic chair of the nearly empty academy classroom that was just so filled with life about a half hour ago, and proceeds to walk out of the classroom, not before bidding the Aburame Clan member goodbye. Thoughts of complaining to his dad about the terrible team placement did cross the boy's mind, but he dismissed it as far too troublesome. He'd rather keep the Uchiha girl close to him and gradually humiliate her in front of others when they see the gaps in talents and strength that he has over the girl. Besides, isn't it a basic requirement for ninja's to be adaptable?


End file.
